US presidential polls: Hillary Clinton riding on big Hispanic wave

Florida: Hispanic voters in key states surged to cast their ballots in the final days of early voting this weekend, a demonstration of political power that lifted Hillary Clinton’s presidential hopes and threatened to block Donald Trump’s path to the White House.

In Florida, energised by the groundswell of Latino support and hoping to drive even more voters to the polls, Ms Clinton visited a handful of immigrant communities Saturday and rallied Democrats in a town filled with Hispanic and Caribbean migrants.

“We are seeing tremendous momentum, large numbers of people turning out, breaking records,” Ms Clinton said here in Pembroke Pines before cutting her remarks short when torrential afternoon rain began falling on the racially mixed crowd. Before taking the stage, she greeted voters at a heavily Cuban early voting center in West Miami.

Mr Trump also began the day in this state, rallying supporters in Tampa, where he recognised Hispanic supporters in his audience and declared “the Cubans just endorsed me,” citing an award he had been given by a group of Cuban-Americans. “The Hispanic vote is turning out to be much different than people thought.”

He also visited North Carolina, Colorado and Nevada. By holding events in those four increasingly diverse states, he was signaling a refusal to concede any ground to Ms Clinton.

— By arrangement with the New York Times